Page 48 of Unbroken Promises

Whomever the fucker is, they are smart; getting other people to do the drops and not giving any personal details away in the process. Every note has been left by a different person, and no matter how many of them we have managed to find, for all our. . . persuasion. . . they still haven’t been able to give me the answers I need. No one has been able to ID the person responsible for all of this. And now, after the threatening letter, they followed through with their threat.Merda!

Fucking hell. When the note was found at the restaurant after closing, I didn’t think they meant to actually destroy the livelihood of the people I care most about as a means of getting back at me. Apparently, I have done too good a job of sealing up my own life without giving enough thought to the collateral damage that could be done to my friends and family. With a groan, I crumple the note in my fist out of frustration, before unwrinkling it to read once more.

I told you not to test my patience. You came out of the shadows, back into her life. For that, someone you love must pay the price. It’s a heavy burden to carry, walking in the shoes that belong to another. I want you to know how it feels, when the life you knew crumbles around you. One. Piece. At. A. Time.

Ikick uselessly at the charred embers on the ground, before turning to look once more at Tony.

“I’m. . .” I shake my head. . . “I’m so sorry, man. I don’t know what to say. This is all my fault.”

Tony’s face is grim as he looks around the ruins of his legacy. The restaurant had been left to him, passed down by his mother’s family and when she died it was his legacy to take over. The only thing he had left of her old life, and the best front we had for the business dealings he led on his father’s behalf. Now what the fuck are we going to do? Ugh.

“Yeah, it is your fucking fault.” There is no anger in Tony’s voice, just bitter resignation, as he turns to face me.

“What?”

“You heard me. This is your fucking fault. You just couldn’t leave things well enough alone. You had to go and tear the whole fucking town apart trying to find any clues of who the fucker is, and then you went and pissed him off. He fucking told you man. In that last letter you showed me, he told you to stay the fuck away from that chick but you just couldn’t, could you?” His words are rising with anger, and I take a step closer, hands raised in a placating gesture.

“Hey, now. First, she is not just some ‘chick.’ Youknowthat. Danica is my whole fucking world. And I couldn’t leave it alone, not when that fucker has been stalking her too. You saw the pictures he took.”

“Those where seven fucking years ago!” He finally explodes, running up close to shove me in the chest. “How the fuck do you know he is still stalking her? You got one fucking envelope full of pictures,seven fucking years ago, and lost your shit. And now you have ruined everything in the process. You obliterated that relationship you claim is so important to you, and now you went and pissed off the fucker so much he is coming after me! This was my life! My legacy!” His screams are garnering attention from passersby, face red with rage and eyes wild as he tries to shove me once more.

But I am stronger than him, and I stand my ground. Grabbing his arms, I force them down, as I lower my voice to not be overheard. “Listen. I screwed up, I’m sorry. Clearly, bringing Danica back to my place pushed the blackmailer over the edge, but what was I supposed to do? He broke into her home, threatened her, and then attacked and shot one of her . . .” I grimace, “her friends. I couldn’t just leave her there and you know that!”

Abruptly,Tony steps away from me, features slipping back into a mask of calm, though his eyes are still stormy. “You’re right. What was I thinking? Of course you had to bring her into your home, despite being warned to stay away. How silly of me to be upset about a little thing like my business being burned to the ground.”

My wince is almost painful as his words cut through me like a knife. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m sorry Tony. I’m gonna make it right. I promise you.” I look at him earnestly, hoping he knows how much I mean these words. “I’m going to fix this.”

“Sure Theo. I know you will.” And with that, he turns on his heel, walking away from me into the ruins that remain of his life.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Theo

Ugh. It has been a really long fucking day. Night has settled over the city, and I sit in my truck now, staring blankly ahead through the fogged-up windshield. I should go. Or I should go in. Hell, I blow out a breath, running a hand down my face as if I could just wipe away the bone-deep weariness I feel as I try to gather my frazzled thoughts. I don’t know what the fuck I should do.

After my conversation with Danica was interrupted this morning, the day progressed from bad to worse. Finding my cousin’s restaurant had been destroyed by arson, and trying to reassure Tony was a lesson in futility, and then I had to rush straight to practice before things had truly been resolved between us. While on the ice, my mind was a million miles away the whole time we were running drills, and Coach was so disgusted with my poor performance that he sent me home early to ‘get my shit together’ before our next match. It was a first for me.

I have a home game tomorrow, and then I fly out for a week of back-to-back away games. Perfect fucking timing, in the middle of this shit-fest I have managed to get myself into. Tony was right. Somehow, no matter how hard I try to fix things, all I have managed to do is make everything worse. With a groan of frustration, I drop my head to the steering wheel, accidentally setting off a beep of the horn.

A soft tap on my window has me jerking upright, reaching for my holstered gun at my ankle, when I see its just Darrion. I let out a breath ofrelief as I open my door, hopping out quickly to meet him. “Jesus, man. Warn a guy next time, will you? You know better than to sneak up on someone who’s packing.”

Darrion just rolls his eyes before shooting me a look. “First of all, I wasn’t sneaking up, you just weren’t paying attention. Second, you wouldn’t shoot me.”

Hmm. He’s awfully confident in himself. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Darrion just grins in response. “C’mon, you know you wouldn’t. You’re too good for that rookie mistake.”

I just shake my head incredulously. “Um, anyone can make a mistake; that is the whole point of a mistake; especially when someone is having as shitty of day as I am. That being said, I might just shoot your smart ass for the hell of it.”

His laughter rings in my ears. “And I’m sure I’d probably deserve it. Now, to fill you in, everything’s good here. Perimeter is clear; we’ve had no signs of trouble today. Took Danica to get coffee at that Bean Shop place, hit up the hospital for a quick visit with Quinteros, and she has been here the rest of the day, working with clients.”

I nod. It’s not surprising that she went to see that fuckface at the hospital. She obviously cares about his wellbeing. Still, I’m glad my guys were with her while she was running about town this morning.

“Jayce is inside with her now. The place is closed for the night, and Roberts will be here with his team to take over for rounds after hours.”

Right. More of Jonathan’s men. I grimace. “Alright. Thanks. I want you to take Jayce and go clear the apartment, then head over to Tony’s and see what he needs help with. We’ve got a real mess on our hands over there, and it is gonna take a lot of work to get things up and running again.” And by ‘things,’ of course, I was not referring to the restaurant business. “I’ll take over from here and follow-up with you in the morning. Let me know if anything else happens in the meantime.”

Darrion nods. “You’ve got it boss.”

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